We flew north from Phuket to Bangkok and met one of our worldschool families at the airport. It was a happy reunion! We rode the three-hour van ride with them to our new home for the month, Hua Hin. We were in Hua Hin in August for a few days scoping it out. It is exciting to be returning for a longer stay. We are spending the month with five worldschooling families we met in Bulgaria. Three families are the same families we spent time with in Vietnam.
On our first night, we saw our friends Helen and Ken and their two sons, who live part of the year in Hua Hin. We also met them in Bulgaria. We ate at the Tamarind Market. It is a food and craft market open on the weekends. The market has a large selection of food, but not for vegans/vegetarians. I do miss the amazing vegan food in Vietnam. Thailand is more difficult for vegetarians because they put meat in most things. They put pork in tofu dishes. There are a few vegan restaurants in Hua Hin that are delicious.
We went grocery shopping on our first full day. We finally have a kitchen! They have a few big grocery stores in Hua Hin. I made tuna noodle casserole (a comfort food for the boys) because they have Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup. We also found a store with Cheez-Its!
We celebrated Halloween in Hua Hin. Henry and I scrambled to find a costume. He chose to be a vampire. I bought Lucas a mask, but he was not into dressing up this year. We went to Market Village on Halloween and discovered they had musical performances and a Halloween fashion show for the kids. Henry and his friend Dexter signed up to be in it. Our friend Jake performed a piano piece as well during the event. Afterward, we went to a Halloween celebration at a school with games, food, and music. Michael met a local kid he bonded with over having the same Halloween mask.
Henry turned 11 during our first week in Hua Hin. We went to Vana Nava Water Jungle with a few families to celebrate! The park has a VR water slide. It is trippy. Henry’s favorite ride is Boomerango. It is a group ride with a massive drop-off that slings the raft high up an inclined wall. Henry had pizza and cake with his friend that evening.
Lucas, Henry, and the other eight kids we are with here attend a center called Elate three days a week. They are doing it for the month. They are learning about coding, design, robotics, CPR, Thai culture, and language. On top of that, our calendar is full of cover dance (k-pop dancing) and hip-hop dance classes, pickleball, swimming, the beach, and more.
The kids are doing another round of Dungeons and Dragons, and hanging out playing games. Michael and Lucas took a van back to. Bangkok over the weekend for Lucas’ first Invisalign check-up since getting them. The orthodontist said he is doing a great job. He will go back in January for his next appointment. They also took the opportunity to play pickleball while they were in Bangkok.
Henry and I had a relaxing weekend in Hua Hin. I went on a moms’ night out with the amazing moms we are traveling with on Saturday night. Henry spent the night playing Roblox with his friend Ty, whom he met four years ago in Nicaragua. On Sunday, Henry had hip-hop class. Then we went to Khao Takiab beach for the afternoon. Henry and his friends rode on a banana boat, played soccer, and swam in the pool.
We love our life!
